Astros Stars Show Up in Game 1 Victory of ALDS

Coming into the start of the ALDS, there was some concern about the home struggles of the Houston Astros during the regular season.

They finished the year with a record of 39-42 at Minute Maid Park, the first time going under .500 at home since 2014.

Their opponent, the Minnesota Twins, were coming into this matchup with tons of confidence after sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round and owning a winning record over the Astros in the regular season.

Houston needed their stars to show up in a big way on Saturday.

They got that and then some during their 6-4 victory.

40-year-old ace Justin Verlander got the nod for the Game 1 start from manager Dusty Baker.

He paid back that trust with a scoreless six inning outing that saw him give up only four hits with strike outs.

Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run in the first inning, Yordan Alvarez one-upped that with two homers of his own and eight out of the nine batters in the starting lineup got a hit.

The four big stars of Altuve, Alvarez, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker combined to go 5-14 with three home runs and four RBI.

It was the exact start that the Astros needed.

Proving to everyone, and themselves, that they can still put up big performances at home after the season long struggles could be a huge factor throughout the playoffs.

The scary thing for other teams is that Houston has been dominant on the road this year.

Their offensive numbers are better and the pitching staff has performed better when in opposing ballparks.

First things first though, the Astros will need to string two good home games back to back as they get ready for Game 2 on Sunday night.